


Lizzy Pasta Phones Home

by qDiva



Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: Core Mechanics (Blaseball Team), Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hawaii Fridays (Blaseball Team), Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 19:35:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30110985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qDiva/pseuds/qDiva
Summary: Lizzy has only been in Hawaii for a couple days when Hands is incinerated. Though it's been a long week and it's very late, she calls Jasper to check in.
Relationships: Jasper Ji-Eun/Hands Scoresburg
Kudos: 3





	Lizzy Pasta Phones Home

The familiar chime of an incoming video call. A familiar face on the screen. Jasper Ji-Eun turns to answer as their dozen holographic hands continue soldering and tinkering with circuit boards on the table behind them.

“Elizabeth?”  
“Hey Jas. Anything break while I’ve been gone?” Lizzy Pasta is in bed. She looks tired. Her angel hair is dry and the bags under her eyes are big enough to hold her gear in.  
“Nothing we could not fix.” Jasper attempts a smile, but it won’t form. The evenness of their voice is a poor mask for a pale worried face with red puffy eyes.  
“I heard about Hands. How are you holding up?"  
"I…" Jasper pauses briefly to consider lying before admitting the obvious. "I have been doing very badly. He was a dear friend."  
Lizzy blinks a little, surprised. "Oh, ‘friend’? Like, did you two break up? I didn’t know him too well, but you two seemed happy? God, sorry that's probably the last thing you want to talk about right now. Forget I asked."  
"It is a fair question. We broke up before the season started. We just needed different things. It was friendly. We shook on it. But I did not want to think about it, so I did not think about it. We had just started talking again. And now… I… he…" Jasper's measured speech begins to break. Their holographic hands have stopped moving behind them. A quick few Korean curses escape their lips as they disable their camera and microphone.

A long pause.  
"Apologies." Jasper says in text, "I need a moment."  
"ofc take your time" Lizzy replies, "anything i can do? sorry to start things like that"  
"I can still hear you. Please tell me about something. I would like to think about anything other than Hands. How is Hawaii?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Lizzy says out loud, nervously running a hand through dry hair and accidentally breaking off a small piece. "Hawaii's alright. I mean, obviously a couple days isn't enough time to see much. I've mostly been in this hotel room, waiting for them to finish packing up Jaylen's stuff so I can move into her old place. I wonder if she'll even still be in the Core by the time they mail those boxes. Anyway, uh, yeah, the Fridays have all been nice I guess. I showed this guy, Greer, how to take apart and supercharge his microwave and he said I should guest on his podcast. He didn’t say what a podcast was but I think we’re gonna build something together? I don’t know. I’m just glad I’m making friends. I miss you already though. I miss working on each other’s projects. I miss the long drives home from games. I miss hearing you sing. I miss seeing you smile. And god, I keep getting no response to jokes I know you would have smiled at. I don’t know. Like, obviously I knew getting flickered was a risk when I signed up for the team. But like, you never think it’s gonna be you, you know? And like, suddenly being in Jaylen’s jersey, I was just panicking out there, thinking like, ‘oh no, I’m gonna miss my room, I’m gonna miss the mess hall, I’m gonna miss wherever’ and honestly, I don’t. I don’t really miss places. I just miss my best friend.”

“Careful, Elizabeth,” Jasper says, turning their camera back on and smirking sweetly with wet cheeks, “You might make me cry again.”  
“Sorry.” Lizzy says with a slight smile, “I’ll try not to.”

A pause.  
“I miss you too, Elizabeth. And I hope you know that I am still always happy to work on projects with you.”  
“Glad to hear it! Have you been working on anything new in the like, three seconds since I saw you last?”  
“Well, I am in the beginning stages of modifying the dimensional drill. Right now it is only a couple of prototype circuit boards, but soon it should be able to travel in 6 dimensions instead of only 5.”  
“Oh, that’s exciting! Keep me updated on that?”  
“I will. Though it will probably be a little while. For obvious reasons.”

Another pause.  
“Yeah. For sure. So… uh… How’s everybody else doing back home? I mean, you know, aside from the obvious.”  
“The obvious is difficult to avoid. Hands meant a great deal to a great many people. The mood around the Core has been solemn, to say the least. Everyone is burying themselves in their work. Almost as much as I am.”  
“God, I’m sorry, Jas. That sounds rough.”  
“It has been. They are considering putting a few of his sculptures around the entrance to the Pillars. I may donate Hands Holding Hands Holding Hands to the cause.”  
“The one he made for your birthday?”  
“The very same.”  
“Gosh, that sounds like… a lot. Hey, just checking in, are you good talking about this? I mean, you said you wanted to think about anything else.”  
“I do. If anything, drifting back to the topic is a sign that I should sleep.”  
“Fair. Have a good night, I’m glad I got to talk to you.”  
“Likewise. And congratulations on the no-hitter. Your knuckleball has really improved.”  
“Thanks. I’d be a lot prouder if it wasn’t my friends and colleagues I was shutting out.”  
“Fair enough. But nothing is perfect. You should take pride in your work.”  
“You’re probably right. God knows I’m doing the work regardless. Anyway, have a good night for real. I love you, Jas”  
“I love you too, Elizabeth.”

As Jasper leaves the call, they scan their room for a metal sculpture of dozens of interlocking hands. Finding it, they place it on the table next to the circuit boards they had been soldering. In truth, it will be some time before Jasper sleeps. There is so much work to do.


End file.
